After a report in the New York Times found that Hochul’s top political consultant, Adam Sullivan, not only made questionable policy calls for the governor but also belittled women on the staff, Hochul parted ways with him .
But a new report has found that Sullivan was fired from his previous job at a Washington, DC-based advocacy organization, “The Hub,” in 2017 for sexually harassing at least two women.
“You know, I mean in the case of Adam Sullivan, sexual harassment under any circumstances is unacceptable,” Hochul told reporters Thursday, at an unrelated event.
“There is no tolerance. This was an individual who came to me from the Democratic National Party, the DCCC, when I was running for Congress. He worked as a manager in my campaign and that’s how I met him in that environment. So to think I have to ask for a resume and then go through a whole new process for campaigns. That was not what I was doing,” he said.
What you need to know
Gov. Hochul says she learned about the sexual harassment allegations involving her former campaign aide just hours before the public did.
The New York Times reports that consultant Adam Sullivan was fired from a previous job over allegations of sexual harassment filed against him.
Hochul parted ways with Sullivan on Sunday after it was revealed that he disparaged female staffers on Hochul’s campaign.
According to the Times, Sullivan approached women who worked with him at “The Hub” to discuss their sex lives in inappropriate terms and asked them questions about theirs.
The allegations were investigated, substantiated, and Sullivan was fired.
Less than a year later, he was working for Hochul on his 2018 campaign for lieutenant governor.
Hochul claims he knew nothing about his earlier dismissal.
“Reading the news yesterday. My staff told me that they were contacted by the New York Times and so they advised me that there would be an article in a few hours,” Hochul said. “That’s when I found out about the allegations of sexual harassment and what the women are saying happened. And I believe the women. But also, in terms of the previous employment, I wasn’t even aware of it, I wasn’t even sure what “The Hub” was.
.@GovKathyHochul says he learned from staff yesterday about the previous sexual harassment charges against his former consultant Adam Sullivan shortly before. @nytimes article Sullivan had been fired from Washington DC’s “the Hub” in 2017, which Hochul says he never heard about.
— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) May 4, 2023
But the Times reports that it was Hochul who recommended Sullivan for his job at “The Hub”; the Hochul office denies this.
The Times found that Sullivan has no social media presence or website, despite owning his own business. They couldn’t even locate a current photo of Sullivan, only one photo was discovered where he appears in the background. He also lived in a remote area of Colorado, which Hochul defended on “Inside City Hall” this week.
“This is someone who lived in New York City, lived in Washington. People work remotely, so that’s not a disqualifier,” Hochul told Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Monday.
Some say Sullivan’s attempt to keep a low profile should have been a red flag to Hochul, as he appeared to want to avoid public scrutiny of his actions.
It also hasn’t been lost on critics that Hochul took over from Andrew Cuomo, who resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal.
Hochul had promised to bring a new culture to government and politics with zero tolerance for sexual harassment.
